Fansunite 2 years ago

Ease back on the Hayne Plane's throttle

Jarryd Hayne now has a contract with the San Francisco 49ers and he's seemingly ahead of where everyone thought he'd be this time last year.

But, I'd like to ask everyone to, as Greenbay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said last year, R-E-L-A-X. Don't let your parochial Australian nature get in the way of reality.

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Hayne is a rookie. He's played six games of American football. The other running backs playing for the 9ers have been playing most of their lives.

Hayne's limited game time is normal for a rookie. Especially one as inexperienced as he is. He's still feeling his way in a side that is under a lot of pressure to perform since their drop off following the 2013 Super Bowl.

Anyone who has watched and understands the intricacies of the NFL will tell you that Hayne's running ability is not the overall issue here.

Yes, he's got to get his pads lower and look to "truck" defenders more than step around them when he has to run those inside routes.

However, a running back has to be able to block and read coverage. He has to know if there's a blitz coming and which linebacker he has to block. If he makes a mistake here, the quarterback gets sacked and at worst, injured.

Hayne is a phenomenal athlete but he's still playing catch up compared to his teammates. There's really no issue if he gets benched in the coming weeks.

He's never going to be an every down running back. Someone like him becomes a specialist on third down or a running back they use for a screen pass.

With Hayne's specialty being in the open field, coaching staff are going to be cautious in using him to take the hard yards and crashing through the defensive line.

It's completely normal for a rookie in the NFL to have limited game time. When the Green Bay Packers unveiled rookie wide receiver Randall Cobb in 2011 he made just 25 receptions throughout 15 games.

For comparison, Cobb played six games in 2013 due to injury but made 31 receptions. Bottom line, rookies are used sparingly as they adjust to life in the NFL.

A non-start for Hayne throughout this season is not the end of his NFL career. The 9ers aren't going to cut a project player like Hayne if he isn't showing improvement. Especially given the amount of interest he's garnered.

Should he be cut from the 9ers roster you could almost guarantee another franchise would throw their hat in the ring for him. Rumours were Detroit tried to gain his signature but the 9ers offered a stronger financial incentive.

What Hayne's done is groundbreaking. But, apply some perspective and you'll realise the way Hayne is being managed by the 9ers is quite normal.